Taken
by Shadowcrawler22
Summary: What happens when a 'collector' has his eyes on Kitty? A Collector who has the ability to suppress the power of any mutant. And what happens when he gets what he wants? Will Kurt and the others be able to get to Kitty before it is too late? Or will she be lost forever?
1. Chapter 1

"I want her." A shadow-like figure said from his chair, looking at a picture of a teenage girl. "Young, beautiful, full of energy, full of life…" He glances over the photo again. Taking time to look over every curve, every detail it holds. A small smile creeps upon his lips. "She must be pure in every sense of the word. Oh what fun she will be to break. Tell me Magneto, when are we going to take her?" The shadow looks away from his picture up to the man standing by the doorway.

"Your awareness for your surrounding never seizes to amaze me, Mr. Landrake." Magneto stated as he walked from the doorway to the man in the chair. The man in the chair looked to be about late 20's with medium length blond hair tied back in a low pony tail. He had icy blue eyes that held no human emotion. Mr. Landrake was a fairly attractive built man.

"Flattery will get you everywhere Magneto, but please we have discussed this many times before, call me Jericho. And you have yet to answer my question. When are we going to take her?" Jericho smoothly persisted.

"Although I find your obsession with the underage girl quite disturbing, I would like to know if I have your full cooperation with the upcoming mission." Magneto turned Jericho's metal chair with a slight twist of his wrist.

"The world is full of disturbing people. Why do you think there are so many missing people in the world? Do you think that they get up and decide leave their lives without telling anyone? No. They are usually murdered or taken, only to be sold into slavery, usually used for sex. Am I one of those disturbing people? I am most certainly am. But I rather be thought of as collector of fine and rare items. And let me tell you Magneto, this girl, despite her power, is what I like to think of as an extremely rare and fine item." Jericho stood up and straightened out the suit and tie he was wearing. He lifts up his hand and red electricity in the shape of a ball started to form. "If I am promised the girl, then I will be more than happy to help you out with your mission. My power will short out any mutant power for at least two solid hours. Just point to whom you would like to be powerless, and I will gladly make it happen."

"Well then it looks like we have a deal." Magneto said as he turned to walk away. Upon reaching the door, he paused and turned around. "One question Mr. Lan… Jericho. You have the power to short out mutant powers. Why do you need someone else to do your bidding when it comes to … acquiring your merchandise?"

Jericho walks over to the counter and pours himself a drink. "I would like the girl to be disoriented and confused. I do not want her to know who is after her until it is too late. The confusion and fear of being in a strange area, the panic of not knowing what is going to happen next, the false hope they feel when they think they will able to escape, and the fight they all put up when they realize they have nowhere else to go. This is what I feed on Magneto. But the best feeling I get is when they break at the end, and they always break. Oh the sense of accomplishment I feel when that happens. And after that, I have the pleasure of seeing that fear whenever I want." Jericho takes a swig of his drink while setting down the photograph of the teenage girl with the medium length brown hair which is tied up in a high pony tail. She had the purest blue eyes and an equally amazing smile. She was wearing a skin-tight black uniform with a blue stripe. At the bottom of the photo read the caption 'Katherine Pryde. Codename: Shadowcat' A sick smile appears on his face. "Oh Miss Pryde, the fun we are going to have."

xXx

This is my First Fanfiction story! Feedback feeds the reader! Please Read and Review and let me know if ya want me to continue!


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you to Ebble, Dragoncat, and KingAzazel for your kind reviews! Here's the next chapter and the third one is in progress.

xXx

Beep… Beep… Beep… Beep…

Kitty groaned as she phased her hand through the alarm; shutting it off. She sat up and looked across the room seeing her roommate putting on her shoes.

"Wow Rogue, you're like up early today." Kitty yawned as she sat up in bed. Rogue looked over at her with slight confusion.

"What are ya talkin' 'bout? It's seven fifteen."

"What?!" The brown hair girl replied while grabbing her alarm clock. Unfortunately Rogue was right. The clock read 7:15am. "Oh my gosh! I'm gonna be late! Why didn't it go off at 6:15 like it was supposed to?" With that Kitty grab her clothes and ran to the bathroom like a madman. About ten minutes after Kitty left, there was a familiar 'Bamf' in the room and Kurt appeared, hanging upside down from the chandelier.

"Guten Tag Rogue and Keety!" Kurt cheerfully greeted while staring down at his sister and…. No Kitty. "Vait. Vhere's Keety?"

"Gawd Kurt. You are gonna give me a heart attack one of these days. Dat gurl is in da shower. Apparently her alarm decided to go off an hour late. Ah told her that her alarm was gonna break if she kept phasin' through it to turn it off. She better hurry, Scott leaves at Seven forty." Rogue responds as she brushes her hair. As if on cue, Kitty comes phasing in with soaking wet hair, wearing her normal red collared shirt with dark pants. She has the hair dryer in hand with her hairbrush.

"Morning Kurt." Kitty greeted as she plugged the hair dryer in the wall. Seeing Kurt in her room in the morning has been no surprise to her. He always appears around the same time every morning to greet them and to, of course, inform them that breakfast was ready. Although at times this seems to annoy Rogue, Kitty looks forward to it every day. She would never admit it, but it was always one of the highlights of her day. "I got to dry my hair and get to the car before Scott leaves. See you downstairs?"

"Ja of course, I'll even try to leave ya some food." Kurt winked and gave one of his famous smiles before porting downstairs. Kitty smiled and started to dry her hair. Rogue rolled her eyes and made her way downstairs. She and everyone else knew that they two obviously liked each other… well everyone except for the two of them.

Downstairs at the breakfast table it was 7:36 and everyone was just about done with breakfast. Scott and Jean were cleaning up their dishes, while Rogue was finishing up her cup of tea and eggs. Logan flips the page in the paper and looks at the clock.

"Does anyone know where half-pint is?" He asked. Logan has always been the lone wolf, but ever since coming to the Xavier Institute he felt less of a lone wolf and part of a pack. He hated to admit it but the kids seemed to have wormed their way into his heart. Though there wasn't a force alive that would get him to say any of these things out loud.

"Her alarm broke and she woke up late." Rogue explained.

"She better hurry or else we are going to be late." Scott stated as he looked at the clock. 7:38am. Classes started at 8:10am but everyone liked to get their early to get their books and it took time to drive there. But regardless of the time, he wasn't about to leave a team member behind.

"You all can go ahead. I can port Keety to school vhen she is done." Kurt volunteered while cleaning off his dish.

"I thought you didn't like porting to school 'cause you said it made you smell like sulfur all day?" Jean smiled as she asked. Being a telepath, she already knew that Kurt would do anything for Kitty. Not that she needed to use her powers to figure that out. Kurt walked over to the refrigerator and pulled out a loaf of bread and put some in the toaster. "You're still hungry?"

"Nah this is for Keety, she needs to have something to eat before going to school. And I don't mind porting. I don't think the sulfur smell is noticeable anymore." Kurt replied as he got out a plate for the toast. Ever since the day they met, Kurt always had a crush on Kitty. Even while she was with Lance and him with Amanda, Kurt would always be thinking of Kitty. Amanda was a very nice and great girl but he knew that he could never give his heart to her. They had broken up about a month and a half ago, but still remained good friends. Unfortunately the same could not be said for Kitty and Lance. About a month ago Kitty had found out that Lance was cheating on her with some blond chick. When Kitty dumped Lance, he did not take it so well. For three days straight, Lance would come over to the institute and shake the place up until Kitty came outside. On the third day, Logan came outside and gave Lance a piece of his mind. Needless to say, Lance hasn't bothered Kitty ever since.

"Well then we better get going. See ya at school!" Scott smiled and with that they left leaving Kurt and Wolverine alone in the kitchen. Not even 15 seconds later Kitty rushes in to the kitchen.

"Sorry I'm late! I'm ready to go…. Wait, where is everyone?" Kitty looked around to see a practically empty kitchen.

"They left for school already, but I'll take you vhen you are done breakfast." Kurt said as he handed her the plate with toast on it.

"You made me breakfast? That is totally sweet Kurt!" Kitty smiled while Kurt blushed. Logan on the other hand just rolled his eyes. It was too early in the morning to deal with their teenage hormones. He cleared his throat and the two of them looked his way.

"Ya better eat up half-pint if you and the elf want to make it to school on time." Logan stated. He picked up his coffee and took another sip of it. "And make sure that Principal of yours doesn't see ya 'porting elf. He already isn't fond of mutants." Ever since the Mutants were reveled by Magneto, the Xavier kids have been having a hard time at school with the bullying. Fortunately most of the teachers were sympathetic with what the students were going through and offered support whenever needed, but Principal Kelly was not one of them. Kitty and Kurt nodded and sat at the table while Kitty ate her toast. Ten minutes later Kitty was done with her plate.

"Well I'm done. See ya later Mr. Logan!" Kitty said. Kurt grabbed her hand and waved to Logan as he teleported off to school. Logan noticed the small blush the two had while holding hands and once again rolled his eyes.

xXx

From the building across the street, Kitty and Kurt were seen appearing around the east corner of their school. _Click! _They walked towards the building talking and laughing. _Click! _Upon seeing the others, the pair made their way to their group. _Click!_

"Don't you think it's weird that Magneto has us doing surveillance on Shadowcat?" Lance asks as he takes another photo of Kitty.

"We do what Magneto wants us to do. If that includes getting a couple of glamour shots of miss kitty cat then that is what we do. Why? Is taking pictures of your ex getting too hard for you?" Pietro teased while taking a sip of his drink. The Brotherhood has had a lot of free time lately since being expelled from school. A slight rumble was felt and Pietro's drink spilt onto him. "Whoa take it easy there tiger. No use ruining a good shirt because of her."

"Man she caught me kissing one girl and goes ballistic calling me a cheater, breaking up with me, and then sticking her mentor on me when she doesn't even want to talk about it." Lance ranted on.

"Didn't you make out with five girls?" Toad asked sitting on the floor. Lance smirked.

"Yea, but she only found out about the one." He takes another photo. "Well she is inside the building now. We'll get some more pictures when she goes home. In the meantime let's get these photos over to Magneto." Lance and the others stood up walked out of the building.

xXx

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	3. Chapter 3

Thank you to Eve-Kataanger, Ebble, Jamesbondfan2016, and Acinorev17 for your kind reviews! Here's the next chapter!

xXx

Kitty was sitting under a tree out front of the school building waiting for Kurt and the others. It had been a long day of school. Being shunned by her 'friends' from outside the institute was tough enough but then she had a pop quiz in English, and a chemistry exam. Thankfully the day was over, although she couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched. She shook her head, thinking that she was being paranoid. Kurt then exited the building and walked over to Kitty.

"Mein Gott, If that day lasted any longer I think I vould be dead! That English quiz vas no fun." Kurt vented as he dramatically fell next to Kitty. Kitty giggled.

"Yea I know. That quiz was like so unfair. How was the rest of your day?" She asked trying to keep the conversation going. Kurt gave a dramatic sign.

"Same old, same old. People whispering about us mutants and being avoided like the plague. You?"

"Same. But at least next week is spring break, and you know eventually this will pass over. At least that's what the professor keeps telling me. Although I don't think it is passing over fast enough." Kitty sighed. It was hard enough that everyone knows that you are a mutant, but it was even harder being treated like an outcast. She hated being treated like that in her old school and now she was being treated the same way here. The only difference is that now she actually has friends.

"I agree. Chicks are supposed to dig the fuzzy dude, not running away in fear." Kurt said looking at his watch which hid his true identity. Kitty grabbed his hand and held his gaze.

"Like don't listen to them. This chick here thinks that the fuzzy dude rocks." Kitty smiled while pointing to herself. Kurt smiled back and the pair started to blush a bit. After a moment of silence Kitty noticed the others heading their way. "Hey, there is the rest of the group. How about we catch a ride with them?" Kurt nodded and the two walked to join their group.

xXx

"Do you have more for me Magneto?" Jericho asked while looking at the photo-covered wall before him. Magneto walked over and handed him an envelope. The blond man eagerly opened it and pulled out more photos. "These are some great photos. Whatever you are paying those boys isn't nearly enough."

"Pay? My son and his friends do whatever I say without question. They are too concern with pleasing me than to ask for money." Magneto boasted. There was a moment of silence before he refocused on his topic. "The mission will be in two nights. There is a Museum just outside of town that is home to a vault containing very powerful crystal. It is said that this crystal has the ability to enhance the mutant gene. Your mission will be to disable any mutant who interferes."

"And what about my merchandise?" Jericho inquired looking at one of the many photos in his hands.

"You wound me to think that I forgot our deal. Shadowcat will be… acquired during this mission as well. Sabretooth has been assigned to separate her from the group and to capture her without much harm done." Magneto explained. Jericho smiled and turned to him. But before he could speak, an alarm sounded throughout the room and Jericho's smile turned into a frown. "Is there a problem Jericho?"

"One of my girls has escaped her cell." Jericho shakes his head disappointingly. "As much as I would love to discuss more about your marvelous plan, it seems that I have some other business to take care of. I shall see you in two days." Magneto nodded as he and Jericho went their separate ways.

xXx

Maria ran as fast as she could around the building that has kept her prisoner for so long. It seemed that every turn led to a dead end. She was beginning to think that she would never find a way out of the building until she finally saw a door. When Maria finally reached it, she nearly jumped for joy to find it unlocked. Her hand turned the knob and she flung it open. The joy she had felt only seconds before instantaneously turn into dread and emptiness.

"Decided to go for a walk?" Jericho smirked as he stood between Maria and the exit. Maria fell to her knees sobbing, she was so close. "What? No pleading for your life? No fight left in you?" He gloated while grabbing her hair and dragging her down the hall. He finally reached a room to his right and opened the door. Instant panic appeared in Maria as she looked around the room. She knew this room way too well. It was the personal hell to every girl in the building. Jericho called it his 'Recreational Room,' where he could give special attention to any one of his merchandise. Everyone else called it a torture chamber.

"Please no! Jericho, I'm sorry! I shouldn't have tried to escape. I've learned my lesson; let me go back to my cell. Please!" Maria pleaded from the ground. She stared into his eyes, hoping to find some sort of mercy. She found none.

"Now you decide to plead and beg for forgiveness? Oh Maria, I should have known you were the one to have escaped the cell. You were a very bright student after all. Top in your class when it came to technology and science." Jericho lectured as he closed and locked the door behind him. He then went over to a cabinet and pulled something out.

"Were?" Maria asked quietly. Jericho smiled as he turned to reveal what he had in his hand, a very long knife.

"Yes my dear. I am going to bring in another girl soon and she will need somewhere to stay. It seems as though your room is about to become vacant." Jericho explained, slicing her arm with the knife. Screams of pain and pleads for mercy echoed the halls of the building. About an hour later Jericho exited the room, carrying the lifeless body of Maria.

xXx

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	4. Chapter 4

Thank you grodo999 (x4), Your Awesome Friend, Dragoncat, musicfan1346, Eve-Kataanger, Ebble, and Acinorev17 For your kind reviews.

I would like to apologize to everyone for not updating sooner. Unfortunately on Monday a Tornado went through my neighbrohood. Thankfully no one was injured and the damage wasn't severe. The other neighbrohoods surrounding mine weren't as lucky. I, and many of my other neighbors, have been outside these past couple of days helping with the clean up. I am happy to report that most of the damage have been repaired. But this is was why I haven't updated sooner.

xXx

Professor Xavier and Beast were watching the news in the kitchen when they heard a door open. The Xavier students flooded into the room with only one thing on their mind: water. It was Wednesday night, which meant a double session in the Danger Room with Logan. Today the new recruits had joined in for the second session.

"My arms are so sore." Bobby exclaimed while trying to reach for a cup. When unable to do so, he created one out of ice and filled it up with water. "I think Logan is trying to kill us."

"You only had to do one session." Kurt moaned as he filled up his glass with water. He looked down at his tail lying on the floor. "My poor tail may never move again."

"The lessons weren't like that bad today. It could have been a lot worse." Kitty spoke after taking a sip of her drink. Logan entered the kitchen.

"You are just saying that cause you girls got to have all the fun. You weren't the ones who had to stand still while you practiced your 'advance self-defense technique.'" Evan chipped in as he plopped into a chair. The first session was all about attack formations, and the second session was about self-defense. Since the guys (mainly Bobby and Evan) were bragging about how strong they were, Logan thought it would be a good idea to use them as 'dummies' for the girls to practice on. Logan was surprised to see how quickly the girls learned the techniques and how much force they put into each move. Although he would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy watching.

"Not so big and strong now, are ya porcupine?" Rouge smirked as she sat down at the table next to Amara. She looked over and saw Scott sitting quietly next to Jean. "And it couldn't have been that bad. You don't see Scott complaining."

"That's because I'm too sore to complain." Scott explained as he looked over at Jean. "By the way, you're pretty good at flipping people." During the exercise, Scott tried to attack Jean from behind. This ended horribly considering he ended up being flipped over and landing on his back. "Remind me to never sneak up on you." Jean smiled at Scott's comment. Kitty joined the others at the table and Kurt, unsurprisingly, took the seat next to Kitty. There was a moment of silence until the news interrupted them with 'Breaking News' headlines.

"The body of 17 year old Maria Johnson was found today in Bayville forest. A group of hikers stumbled across the body while going out for a retreat. As you may remember, Maria Johnson went missing from New York City nearly nine months ago while walking home from school. The Coroner's office states that the girl has been dead for three hours when discovered. It has been reported that the victim had been brutally raped and tortured prior to death. Also, the letters 'JL' have been burnt into her back. Police Officers urge anyone with information about Maria to call the tip line shown below." The news reporter read out her final words before a picture of Maria was displayed across the screen. Maria had long brown hair that reached down to the middle of her back and dark blue eyes. A cold chill seemed to fill the room.

"That poor girl." Jean spoke, being the first to break the silence. She seemed to have spoken the words on everyone's mind.

"I can't believe that they found her body so close to the institute." Beast added. Upon realizing this, Professor Xavier felt the need to offer a warning to his female students.

"You know, Ladies, if you ever feel like someone is following you, or if someone is trying to take you against your will…" Xavier started to say when he was interrupted.

"Send him flying down the street?" Jean asked.

"Burn him to a crisp?" Amara continued.

"Drain the life out of him?" Rouge added.

"Leave him stuck in the middle of a wall?" Kitty finished.

"Really Kitty? A wall? What's good is that gonna do?" Bobby asked while shaking his head.

"It would stop whoever from following me! And it would allow me to give the creep a black eye for trying to take me." Kitty defended her position as she crossed her arms. The guys couldn't help but smile at all of their suggestions. Which, given the situation, seemed like the perfect answer.

"I was going to say to call for some help." Professor X finally finished his statement as he looked at his students.

"I don't know, Chuck. I think I like their ways better. Seems like it would leave a lasting impression." Logan stated as he smirked. He hasn't been training these kids just so they could act like damsels in distress.

"Be it as it may, situations like those should never be dealt with alone. I'm not saying that the ladies, or any other student here, couldn't handle themselves. It would be best if assistance were available just in case the situation got out of hand." Professor Xavier explained as he lectured his students. It was then when Storm came into the room. She had been outside preparing her garden for the upcoming season.

"Hey Auntie O! If some creep was trying to take you against your will, what would you do?" Evan asked his Aunt, wanting an unbiased answer.

"Strike them with lightning." Storm replied without hesitation. Most of the room chuckled as she made eye contact with Professor Xavier. It seems that she walked into a debate and chose the wrong side. Professor Xavier shook his head. He knew he was fighting a lost cause. But he wasn't upset. It gave him comfort that his students were confident enough to defend themselves if the situation called for it.

"Alright everyone tonight is a school night. I'm sure you all have homework due tomorrow. I suggest that you do it before dinner." Professor Xavier said as his students left the room. He turned to Storm once the room was empty of students.

"Lightning?" Xavier asked as he raised an eyebrow. All Storm could do was smile and shrug.

xXx

Kitty was sitting at the desk in her room as she was trying to figure out her math worksheet. She was spacing out, getting lost in her own thoughts. She kept thinking about what Bobby had said._ Jean can throw people telekinetically, Amara can burn them to a crisp, Rouge can suck the life out of them, and all I can do is stick them in a wall. What good _would_ that do? Is my ability so ineffective when it comes to fighting people?_ Just then there was the familiar 'Bamf' as Kurt appeared with his tail covering his eyes.

"Keety? Rouge? Are you decent? Can I open my eyes?" Kurt asked. Kitty couldn't help but laugh.

"It's just me here Kurt. And you can open your eyes." Kitty replied. It wasn't too long ago when Rouge had lectured him about popping into the room when they could be changing. Kurt took his tail off of his eyes and plopped down on Kitty's bed.

"I just got done that English homework. Now my brain and muscles hurt. What work are you doing now?" Kurt questioned as he looked at the paper on the desk.

"Math. Or at least I'm trying too, but I keep spacing out." Kitty explained as she unconsciously frowned. Kurt picked up on this.

"Is everything ok? If you are having trouble, I will be more than happy to help!" The fuzzy elf exclaimed.

"Everything is fine." The young brunette lied giving a fake smile. That smiled might have fooled other people, but not her best friend.

"Everything is not fine. I can tell." Kurt stated while he sat up. Kitty sighed, giving up the act. She should have known better than to lie to Kurt.

"It's about earlier, when we were talking about that creep. Jean can throw people telekinetically, Amara can burn them to a crisp, Rouge can suck the life out of who ever, and all I can do is stick them in a wall? Bobby had a good point. What good _would_ that do? Am I like so ineffective when it comes to fighting people? I just feel like the weakest link." Kitty unloaded everything that was on her mind. She couldn't even bring herself to look at Kurt.

"Keety, I must confess something to you…" Kurt paused as he waited for Kitty to look up at him. When she did, he continued. "Bobby is a complete idiot. The gift you have is truly amazing. I mean you have the ability to stick people where ever you want AND to dodge any punch thrown your way. Sticking someone in the middle of the wall is a great idea. Like you said earlier, you could give him a black eye, or use him as a punching bag." Kitty smiled at Kurt's suggestion. He always had a way of cheering her up.

"Or stick him in the middle of the road." She added.

"Or sink him into the ground." He suggested, smiling.

"Or phase him head first into the room below. That way he would be dangling from the ceiling by his ankles."

"And then we can use him as a piñata." Kurt finished as they stared at each other in silence. They then both started to laugh.

"We can be pretty sadistic at times." Kitty stated. Kurt nodded his head in agreement. She then got up and tackled Kurt with a huge hug. The pair of them fell back on the bed. "Thanks for cheering me up. You are always there for me." There was a moment of comfortable silence as the two embraced each other. But that moment was interrupted by the sound of the door opening.

"Wow. Ya know, ya'll could just put a sock on the door if ya'll wanted some 'alone' time." Rouge said. Kitty and Kurt blushed as the two scrambled to get off of each other.

"Like nothing happened Rouge. I was just giving Kurt a hug for cheering me up." Kitty tried to explain, turning another shade of red. Rouge just smirked and shook her head.

"Hugging by pinning my baby brother on your bed? Ya'll need to come up with better excuses… AND another place to 'hug.'" Rouge stated walking over to her on bed. She picked up a book and continued to read where she left off. It seemed like Kitty and Kurt invented a new shade of red and the comfortable silence they had experienced earlier turned into an awkward one.

"How about we go downstairs and help with dinner?" Kurt suggested. Kitty nodded in agreement as she grabbed Kurt's hand. With a 'Bamf' the two were gone.

"Gosh, those two are blinder than Ray Charles." Rouge mumbled to herself as she turned the page.

xXx

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	5. Chapter 5

Thank you Nyx811, A MidNight Lover, Monii4evr, Guest, codelyokomonadvanced, creatorX33, grodo999, Ebble, Acinorev17, Eve-Kataanger, BabyDoll99, musicfan1346, and Player Zero for your kind reviews.

xXx

Beep… Beep… Beep… Beep…

The sound of Kitty's alarm clock sounded the start of a new day. She moaned as she phased her hand through the alarm clock. Kitty sat up and looked over at her roommate, who was sleeping soundly. Confused as to why Rouge was still sleeping, she looked over at her alarm clock. 5:15am. _Maybe Rouge was right about phasing through my alarm clock. _Deciding that there was no point in going back to sleep, Kitty got ready for the day. At around 6am Kitty walked into the empty kitchen and grabbed a cup of tea. Seeing the paper on the table, she sat down and picked it up. On the front page was a huge picture of Maria Johnson along with the article that goes into the description of her injuries. She kept staring into the picture and noticed the similarities she shared with Maria.

"Anything good in the paper, half-pint?" A gruff voice started the young girl as she slightly jumped. She didn't noticed Logan standing with a cup of coffee.

"Geez Mr. Logan. Ya scared me." Kitty exclaimed as she handed him the paper. "Just a very descriptive story about Maria Johnson." Logan took the paper and looked it over. He shook his head.

"Shame what happened." He commented while taking a sip of his drink. The older man looked over at Kitty and noticed that she was staring into her tea, something was obviously was on her mind. "Something on your mind kid? Or is your tea really that interesting."

"Broken bones, shallow and deep cuts, bruises and burns, being raped… This girl must have been in a nightmare. And police are now saying that another girl about a year and a half ago was found dead with the same JL burn marks. And…" Kitty hesitated before continuing. "And she kinda looks like me." Logan raised his eyebrow as he took another look at the picture. Brown hair, blue eyes, petite, around the same age… He hated to admit it but the dead girl did look very similar to Kitty.

"There are some pretty sick people out there. Creeps that pray on young girls. But you got something that those girls don't have… and I'm not talking about your powers. You got some good instincts… and a good right hook. I'm sure that ice-cube would agree with me on that one, seeing as you knocked him flat on his ass yesterday." Logan stated while taking another swig of his coffee. Kitty smiled at the memory of knocking Bobby down. Bobby was taunting her during the session about how she probably couldn't even hit him. Boy was he wrong. Logan laid the newspaper down in front of Kitty. "Besides, this girl looks nothing like you. She got some pretty short hair covering her forehead, and you clearly don't."

"They're called 'bangs' Mr. Logan." Kitty laughed.

"Whatever half-pint. Now go get something to eat before everyone comes down and takes over the kitchen. You can't live on tea." Logan said. He would never admit it but he had a soft spot for Kitty. Not in the romantic way, but in the way a father would care for his kid. Kitty got up and walked over to the pantry. She was in luck there was still some cereal left. Grabbing a bowl and some milk, she rejoined Logan at the table. They sat in silence until 6:15 when a familiar 'Bamf' was heard.

"Guten Tag Mr. Logan. Guten Tag Keety. You are up early this morning!" Kurt greeted as he got himself a bowl of cereal.

"Morning Kurt. My alarm clock decided to go off at 5:15 instead of 6:15 this morning. I think I need to get a new one." Kitty responded as she smiled. Kurt sat down next to Kitty. She noticed that he seemed to be up earlier than normal and that there were some feathers in his hair. "Why are you up early today? And what's up with the feathers?"

"Well I decided to pop in and make sure you vere up. I made ze mistake of startling Rogue and got beaten vith a pillow. Apparently I owe her a new pillow now… and I have to clean up the feathers, even though she caused the mess." Kurt explained as he tried to dust the feathers out of his hair.

"Thanks for seeing if I was awake. Oh ya missed a feather. Here let me get it for ya." Kitty smiled as she reached for the feather sticking out on top of his head. When she finally got it, both Kurt and Kitty realized how close their faces were to each other. The two started to blush. Logan rolled his eyes from behind the paper. Were these constant flirtations going to be a daily routine?

"Pick your battles carefully elf. It's better to get the pillow and clean the mess than to have your sister after ya." Logan lectured, breaking the trance the two had.

"Ja, I guess I vill stop by ze mall after school today." Kurt sighed. But then perked up as an idea popped into mind. "Hey Keety, would ya like to come vith me to ze mall? So you can pick up a new alarm clock?"

"Yea of course! It will be like fun!" Kitty exclaimed. Some quality time with her best friend/secret crush would do her some good.

xXx

The rest of the morning and school day went on as normally as it can for a mutant. Soon it was the end of the school day and Kitty met up with her fellow X-Men outside.

"You guys ready to head on home?" Scott said with his car keys in his hand.

"Actually, Kurt and I were going to go to the mall. We need to pick up a few things." Kitty explained. Evan smirked at this comment.

"So you're going on a date to the mall?" Evan stated. Clearly he wanted to make things awkwardly uncomfortable. He succeeded.

"No!" Both Kitty and Kurt responded quickly, slightly turning red.

"So what are you going to be doing at the mall then? Go to the movies… have a romantic dinner… stare at each other until you guys ki… OW!" Evan continued teasing until his was painfully interrupted with an elbow to the ribs, courtesy of Rogue. Jean noticed the two turn a deeper shade of red.

"Have fun you two!" Jean said as she took Scott's hand and led him to the car with the others following. They soon loaded up into the car and left, leaving Kitty and Kurt behind.

"Ready to go? Kurt asked. Kitty nodded and grabbed his hand while he ported away. They arrived around the corner of the mall. Stepping into the building they were greeted by a large number of stores. Kurt walked up to a map and looked for a department store. "Ok according to ze map, we need to go to ze other side of ze mall." The pair started to walk through the mall. Kitty noticed that Kurt was still holding her hand, but decided to not say anything about it. She secretly wished that he wouldn't let go and was seemly getting her wish. Soon they had reached the other side and entered the department store.

"Gosh, how are we ever gonna find anything in here? It's huge!" Kitty stated as she looked around. This place was indeed large.

"How about we meet up here in fifteen minutes? You go that vay and I vill go this way." Kurt suggested as Kitty agree. The two went their separate ways. After ten minutes Kitty managed to stumble upon the electronic section and she started to look for the clocks.

"Can I help you miss?" A smooth voice asked as Kitty turned around. She saw a man in his late 20's standing there. He had long dirty blond hair tied back into a low ponytail and icy blue eyes. The teenage girl noticed that he had briefly looked at her the same way a dog would look at a steak. A wave of uneasiness had swept over her.

"Um… I'm looking for an alarm clock. But I think I can find it." Kitty replied calmly. For all she knew, he was just a nice guy who was trying to help, even though her gut told her differently. She gave a friendly smile and started to turn away from him but was stopped when he grabbed her arm.

"I believe the alarm clocks are this way my dear. I can show them to you if you would like." Jericho informed her while his hand slowly crept up on her arm. Using her other hand, Kitty removed Jericho's hand from her arm.

"Thanks for pointing me in the right direction but I think I got it from here. Bye." The teenage girl strongly stated while walking away. That guy was really creepy but she wasn't about him get to her. Jericho watched her walk away. Her skin had felt like velvet and she didn't even flinch. The last couple of girls had always flinched when he met them before he took them. Oh she was a tough one, which made her far more desirable to have. He walked away.

xXx

When Kurt had found Kitty, he saw her walking away from some blond guy with a pissed off look on her face. "Hey Keety! Vho vas zat?"

"Just some creepy guy. You found the pillow already?" Kitty responded.

"Ja, I got ze fluffiest pillow I could find. Vhat about your alarm clock?" Kurt asked as he looked back to where the 'creepy' guy was standing. He was already gone.

"I'm looking at them now… Oh here it is!" The brown hair girl exclaimed as she took the clock she wanted. The two of them went up to the register and paid for their items. Walking out of the mall Kurt saw an ice cream stand and they went to get some. They didn't even realize that they were being watched by Jericho. He saw them laugh and talk. He even saw how they blushed with one said something nice to the other. It was obvious that they liked each other. _Cute. It seems as though she has a crush. Not that it matters. For tomorrow she will be with me. And that is when the REAL fun will begin._

xXx

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Next chapter is when things get darker. Just a fair warning!


	6. Chapter 6

Thank you to Your Awesome Friend, creatorX33, musicfan1346, Ebble, moonflame2005, Player Zero, Dragoncat, Holycrapiloveanime, Guest (1), Nyx811, Grodo999, Guest (2), A MidNight Lover, Guest (3) for your kind reviews.

xXx

The next morning seemed to go off just about perfectly. Kitty's alarm clock went off on time and she was up and ready for breakfast with the rest of the group. She took her seat next to Kurt at the breakfast table. All the students were excited that spring break would be starting after school today. A whole week of relaxation and the possibility of going home to visit families.

"So K girl. You didn't tell us what your spring break plans were. Going home?" Evan asked as he ate some eggs. Kitty gave a small smile.

"Actually I'm gonna stay here for spring break." The brown hair girl simply responded. After the mutants were exposed things have been hard on her family. Relatives calling in asking if she really was a mutant, neighbors calling her a freak whenever she would visit home, and her parents were having a hard time dealing with it all. Her neighbors and family members were coming around to the idea but it still needed more time. So she decided to stay away from home to give more time for adjustment.

"Well good. Maybe you can keep Kurt some company." Evan teased and guarded his ribs, half expecting Rogue to take another stab at them. Kitty smiled and Kurt noticed that she seemed to like the idea. When breakfast was over the students cleaned up their plates and started to head out of the room. _Well it's now or never._ Kurt thought to himself.

"Um Keety can I talk to you for a second?" Kurt nervously asked. Logan who was sitting in the back of the room tuned in to what was happening. _Is the elf finally going to ask half-pint out? Well this should be interesting. _He silently took a sip of his coffee.

"Sure Kurt! What's going on?" Kitty asked, being her normally happy self. Kurt's tail kept sweeping back and forth rapidly. He hoped it would slow down but the damn thing had a mind of its own sometimes.

"I vas vondering if maybe you vould like to do something… during spring break… vith me?" Kurt sheepishly asked. He started to turn a shade of purple.

"Definitely Kurt! We like do things all the time!" Kitty replied, not quite sure if he was asking her out on a date or just to hang out as friends. She was really hoping for the date option.

"Ja but… vith only ze two of us. Go to ze movies… maybe dinner… like a…" The fuzzy elf was having a hard time saying  
the word 'date.' He kept fumbling over his words. Logan rolled his eyes and shook his head from the corner he sat in. _ Well this is a train wreck. If he keeps moving at this speed then spring break will be over before he finishes asking her out._

"The elf is asking ya on a date half-pint. Say yes and get to school so I can finish my coffee in peace." Logan chimed in, trying to save Kurt from himself. It was getting too painful to watch. Kitty on the other hand seemed to glow.

"Like really Kurt?" She asked in anticipation.

"Ja. If you vant to. Ve can see a movie… maybe dinner…" Kurt rambled on while hoping Kitty would say yes.

"Ya already said that elf." Logan muttered under his breath. Thankfully no one heard him.

"Yea, that would be like great Kurt!" Kitty beamed.

"Really?" Kurt exclaimed as his tail seemed to move faster. He couldn't believe that she said yes.

"Like really!" Kitty confirmed. The sound of a car horn was beeping, signaling that it was time to leave for school. "Let get going! Scott's gonna get impatient." With that Kurt grabbed Kitty's hand, and the pair headed out to the car.

"Well it's about time." Logan said to no one in particular as Ororo entered the room.

"About time for what?" She questioned grabbing a cup of coffee.

"Elf finally asked half-pint out on a date." He replied while looking over the paper. Storm took a seat at the table.

"Awe that's sweet. Those two have had a crush on each other for awhile." The white haired woman gushed.

"Yea yea." He brushed off. _If he breaks her heart I will hang his pelt on my wall._ That thought made him smile.

xXx

The rest of the school day went as well as the morning. Kitty and Kurt were holding hands and everyone was talking about it. Several times Evan and Bobby wanted to teased the two about it, and several times they were jabbed in the ribs by Rogue and/or were given a mental slap by Jean. By the time everyone got home Bobby and Evan headed to the medicine cabinet for some Tylenol for headaches and ice for their ribs. It was around 5pm when Xavier called everyone into the living room. Everyone being Scott, Jean, Rogue, Kitty, Kurt, Evan, Beast, Storm, and Wolverine.

"We have a problem on our hands. It seems as though Magneto and his team are trying to steal something from Bayville Museum. There seems to be a lot of civilians caught in the middle of this fight. The mayor has asked for our help. Our goal is to secure the safety of the civilians first, see what Magneto is after, and if possible prevent the theft. If the theft cannot be prevented then don't worry about it. We can always take it back later. The civilian's safety is our primary goal." Xavier explained the situation. The group nodded and headed out to the X-van. Upon arriving, several people were seen running around in a state of panic as a dragon made out of fire were chasing them. Magneto, Pyro, and Gambit were standing in plain view. _"Storm and Spyke take Pyro. If you can disconnect him from his pack then he should be done. Beast and Rogue you guys go for Gambit. Keep an eye on what he touches. Cyclops and Jean go for Magneto. If you can get his helmet off, I may be able to see what he is up to. Nightcrawler, Shadowcat and Wolverine go inside. The security doors have locked civilians in many areas of the Museum. Go get them out. There is no telling when Magneto will storm the Museum and we need them out of harm's way. Be on the lookout for anyone else. There are too many people here to be able to tell if there are anymore Acolytes."_ Xavier telepathically commanded every member of the team. They nodded and went their separate ways. When Logan, Kurt and Kitty entered the Museum, Jericho stepped out of the shadows and leaned up against the building. He will step in when he is ordered to do so.

xXx

Once inside the Museum, there were three directions that could be taken, each having people trapped.

"Shadowcat, go straight. Nightcrawler, go left. I'll take the right." Wolverine ordered. Nodding in conformation, the three went their separate ways. Several moments later, Sabretooth walked into the building. Sniffing the air, he smiled when he found the scent he was looking for. He continued straight.

xXx

Outside 30 minutes later, the battle seemed to be going in favor of the X-Men. Storm had kept dousing the fire with rain while Evan was trying to disconnect Pyro's pack with his spikes. Beast and Rogue were successfully keeping Gambit's attacks contained. Though truth be told, Gambit was really only attacking Beast and ruthlessly flirting with Rogue. Jean and Scott had cornered Magneto. Every metal item thrown their way was deflected. When Jean was starting to telekinetically pull the helmet off of Magnet, he turned towards Jericho while using he own ability to fight to kept the helmet on.

"Jericho, the red head." Was all that Magneto needed to say. Jean heard a noise and turned around, only to be met with a red electric ball to the shoulder. She was knocked backwards, holding her shoulder as she hissed in pain.

"Jean are you alright?!" Scott asked as he dodged another metal object thrown his way. Jean nodded.

"Yea I just feel weird." The red head confirmed as she stood up. Another object was headed her way. But when she waved her hand, nothing happened and the object was still heading her way. At the last minute she dove to the side, the projectile barely missing her. _Scott something is wrong._ Jean said telepathically, not wanting Magneto to know. She got no response. "Nothing's working!"

"Power troubles?" Magnet smiled. It seems as though Jericho was not exaggerating about his ability.

"What did you do!?" Jean exclaimed as she tried to lift up another object. Nothing happened.

"I cheated." Responded the master of metal. The next item headed her way was suddenly deflected by a beam of red light. Scott ran up to Jean.

"What's going on?" He asked, concerned.

"My powers aren't working." The red headed girl stated. In this state of confusion Magneto turned to Jericho.

"Take out whoever interferes. I'll be back." And with that he entered the building.

xXx

Kurt, Kitty and Logan were all in their separate sections when they heard Xavier inside their heads. _When you are done come out front immediately. A serious situation has developed. _Kurt and Logan had confirmed that they were on their way. The civilians in their sections were all cleared out. Kitty was about to confirm when she heard the sound of a small girl crying. She looked around and saw no one. _She must be hiding. _The teenage girl thought as she started searching.

"Hello? Anyone here?" Kitty called out looking behind a statue. Nothing. "There is no reason to hide. I'm not gonna hurt you. I'm just here to make sure you get out safely." She stared out at the incredibly large room. It was the size of a football field. There are so many places for this girl to hide. Following the sound of tears, Kitty came up to a heavy oak table. Looking underneath it, she found a tape recorder. The sounds of crying were coming from it. Confused, Kitty picked it up and turned it off. "Who would have a recording of a girl crying?"

"Me." A voice growled from behind her as she was tackled to the ground. Sabretooth had Kitty pinned to the ground. "You're coming with me."

"Doubt it." She stated as she phased through him standing up. He stood up and jumped at her again. This time she was prepared and watched as he went right through her. "Can't really take what you can't touch, can ya?"

"We will see." Sabretooth threatened as he shot her a deadly glance. He lifted up his hand to show the X-Men communicator he had taken off of her. Crushing it, the beastly man dove towards the young girl.

xXx

When Logan and Kurt walked out of the building, they immediately knew something was wrong. Jean and Rogue were dodging attacks from Gambit, Evan was picking up rocks and throwing them at Pyro, and Beast looked… human. Storm was still keeping the rain on Pyro while Scott was shooting lasers at some unknown blond guy.

"What the heck is going on?" Logan questioned running towards the battle. Kurt was right behind him.

"Don't let the electric balls hit ya!" Scott shouted as he dodged one. "They zap your power."

"Great. I love dodge ball." Kurt replied as he joined the fight.

xXx

Inside the Museum, Kitty was dodging most of Sabretooth's attacks. The entire room looked like a warzone. She didn't think that there was one item in the room that wasn't broken. He did get in a few lucky hits but she got right back up and retaliated with a few punches of her own. But with his regenerative power, every hit she made wasn't doing much harm. Unfortunately all of this phasing was depleting her energy though she refused to show it.

"What do you want with me anyways?" Kitty asked as she phased through Sabretooth spun around and kicked him squarely in the chest. He grabbed her foot and used it to swing her into a wall. The teenage girl slumped to the floor. _ Ouch, wasn't ready for that one. This needs to end now. _

"Who says I'm the one who wants ya?" Sabretooth responded walking up to the girl. _Well it's now or never._ Kitty thought as she suddenly pushed off the floor and jumped on Sabretooth's back. The overgrown cat grabbed Kitty's arm, trying to tear her off of him, but she wasn't about to let that happen. Sabretooth started to sink into the metal floor and when he was half way down Kitty jumped off of him. She looked at the scratch marks down the side of her left arm. Just when she thought it was over, she felt a sting on the back of her neck.

"Ouch!" Kitty snapped as she put her hand to her neck and felt something. Pulling the metal object out, she looked at it. It was a dart. Suddenly things were starting to go black. The brown hair girl was stumbling to get out of the room. But her legs felt as though they were being held down by cinderblocks and every step was harder to take. Blackness overtook her as she fell to the floor unconscious. The metal floor keeping Sabretooth hostage was opened as he crawled out and walked over to the girl.

"Having trouble controlling a teenage girl? I'm disappointed Sabretooth." Magneto stated holding a red crystal. Sabretooth roared as he picked up Kitty and threw her over his shoulder. The master of metal made a hole in the wall. "Go out this way. You know where to meet up." And with that Sabretooth with Kitty exited the building.

xXx

After an hour and a half of fighting, it seems as though the X-men were about to win. It was then when Magneto walked out the front door.

"Time to go." He ordered.

"My item?" Jericho asked.

"Acquired." Magneto simply stated. A dark smile crept up on Jericho's face. Metal orbs surrounded the acolytes and Jericho. They disappeared into the sky, leaving the X-Men confused.

"Who was the new guy? And what happened to my powers!?" Evan yelled, still pissed off that his spikes didn't return yet.

"Temporarily suppressed. It seems like this new guy has the ability to temporarily stop other mutant's powers. Although I am unsure how long it will last." Xavier explained.

"I think I heard Magneto call him Jericho." Jean chimed in. She too was pissed off that her abilities have not returned.

"He sure looked familiar. Vasn't that ze guy from ze mall Keety?" Kurt asked while looking around for Kitty. A chill went down his spine when he didn't see her. "Vhere's Keety?" Everyone perked up at that question. The teenage girl was nowhere to be found. Logan pulled out his communicator.

"Shadowcat, what is your location?" Logan urgently asked. No response.

"Her communicator is offline." Professor Xavier stated, looking at the computer in attached to the van. "Last known location was inside the museum." Kurt teleported inside the Museum and ran straight forward to where she was suppose to be. He stopped at the entrance of the enormous room. Everything was broken, as if there a huge battle occurred. The others arrived and was shock at the amount of damage.

"Spread out!" Logan ordered. Everyone was searching the room calling out Kitty's name. They were looking under the debris for any sign of their friend. It was then Logan took a sniff and growled, his claws coming out simultaneously. "Sabretooth."

"Ah found some blood." Rogue yelled out. Wolverine ran over to her. He touched the blood with his fingers and then brought it up to his nose to smell. The blood in his body seemed to run cold.

"Vell? Vho's blood is it?" Kurt asked, anxiety running over him.

"It's Kitty's." Logan spoke the words that no one wanted to hear. Not only was Kitty missing, but she was injured and from what he could tell, Sabretooth was responsible. _Creed has finally gone too far. I swear if I get my claws on him… _ The thought was left unfinished. Anxiety seemed to turn into anger in Kurt.

"Vhat happened!?" The blue elf yelled. Anger was not an emotion people were used to seeing from Kurt. To be honest, it was a bit unsettling.

"Let's find out." Scott said while pointing up to the ceiling. There were a couple of security cameras that seemed to still be intact.

xXx

Magneto and Sabretooth walked into the building owned by Jericho. Sabretooth still had the unconscious teenage girl over his shoulder. He laid her on the table in front of him. Jericho's eyes lit up, the same way a kid's would on Christmas.

"Marvelous Job! I knew you would hold up your end of the deal Magneto. Tell me Sabretooth, was she any trouble?" The blond hair man eagerly asked. The only response was a roar he let loose. Jericho smiled. "That much huh? Oh this is going to be great. Did you get what you wanted Magneto?"

Magneto nodded and held out his hand revealing a red crystal. "It's increases a mutants power 20 times than normal." He explained. This gave Jericho an idea.

"May I please see it?" Magneto was hesitant but then handed the crystal over to Jericho. It started to glow red. Forming a red electric ball in his hand, he touched the young girl before him. Even being unconscious Kitty winced from the pain she felt from the electricity. "If what you say is true then she will now be powerless for at least 40 hours." He handed the crystal back to Magneto as he and Sabretooth walked out of the room. Jericho leaned over Kitty. His hand on her knee, slowly sliding up her thigh to the curvature of her hip. "Forty hours." The blond man whispered into her ear, kissing her cheek. "Oh the fun we are going to have when you wake up, my dear. We'll see just how strong you really are."

xXx

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I'm already working on the next chapter.


	7. Chapter 7

Hello everyone! Sorry for the delay. Real life has a way of keeping ya busy.

Thank you to BabyDoll99, Acinorev17, Player Zero, Nyx811, Anonymous452, Grodo999, Ebble, creatorX33, musicfan1346, FivePhoenix (x2), Dragoncat, A MidNight Lover, Guest (1), Guest (2), Holycrapiloveanime, Saintsx2, guest (3), guest (4) and GUEST (5) for your kind reviews.

xXx

"The security room is over here." Storm called over to the rest of the group. The security room door had been locked but that didn't mean anything to the X-Men. Within seconds the door was shattered as they flooded into the small room. There was a small complex computer connected to a big screen TV.

"Anyone know how to work this thing?" Scott asked as he stared at the computer. No one spoke right away.

"I could give it a try." Beast said as he took the seat in front of the computer. It was moments like these they wished that Forged had tagged along. Minutes seemed like hours as Beast messed around with the computer, and Kurt was becoming very impatient.

"Can't you hurry up Beast? Ve need to find Keety." The blue boy snapped out of frustration.

"Calm down elf. We all are concern about half-pint." Wolverine reminded. Though he couldn't blame Kurt, this waiting was starting to drive him crazy too. After a couple more minutes it seemed as though Beast finally got the computer to work.

"Alright I think I have it." Beast stated as he put the video on the big screen. It showed Kitty looking around the room.

"What is she doing? Is there any sound?" Rogue asked. She was concerned about her roommate, like everyone else. Beast messed with the computer some more as sound appeared on the screen. Sounds of a little girl crying were heard.

"Was there a girl in that room?" Scott questioned. He, like everyone else, was concerned about Kitty but didn't want to find out that a little girl was still stuck in the room.

"I didn't sense anything." Wolverine reassured. It was at that moment when Kitty had found the recording and questioned who would put that there. Sabretooth then popped into the picture pinning Kitty to the floor. This had earned a low growl from Wolverine. The two had quipped on the video before the fight broke out.

"Fast forward to the end." Jean said. Beast nodded while fast forwarding the recording. Images of the fight were flying by at an increased speed. Sabretooth crashing into tables, Kitty putting up a great fight. "Here stop." The video played on at normal speed right as Kitty crashed into the wall. Most of the X-Men flinched at the sight. The young girl was then seen picking herself up and tackling Sabretooth, sinking him into the floor. It just about killed Kurt on the inside when he saw Sabretooth dig his claws into her left arm. But it became apparent that Kitty won the fight.

"Wait. She won. Then what happened." As soon as Evan spoke the words a dart was seen imbedding itself into Kitty's neck. Magneto walked into view just as the young girl stumbled around and fell onto the floor. He and Sabretooth had their words and then Sabretooth walked out with a very unconscious Kitty. Beast had stopped the video when it became apparent that Kitty was not going to be returning to the room.

"Where did they take her?" Storm asked, fearing for the safety of her student.

"I don't know, but I know who to ask." Wolverine stated. Everyone knew that he was going after Sabretooth and no one was going to stop him.

"I'm going vith you." Kurt said, staring at Wolverine. There was a moment of silence as the two just stared at each other. Logan was tempted to tell the elf 'hell no' but he knew better. So he just nodded in agreement.

"Ok. You two go and see if you can track Sabretooth. The rest of us will see if we can find Magneto or Kitty using Cerebro. Stay in contact." Scott ordered. Everyone agreed and went their separate ways.

xXx

"Where… Where am I?" Kitty said while trying to shake away the fogginess that clouded her thinking. The last thing she remembered was fighting off Sabretooth. She had phased half of him through the ground when suddenly she felt a sting on her neck. It was a dart that she had pulled out and then things went black. Now she was waking up on a cot in a cell.

"You're in hell." A small voice said from the cell across from Kitty's. It was teenage girl with very short brown hair and blue eyes. The girl looked very frail and weak. Kitty got up and made her way to the cell door, looking at the other girl.

"Who are you? Why are we here?" Kitty questioned as her head became clearer. The cell had no windows, except for the one on the door. Getting up, the other girl made her way to the front of her cell to get a look at the new girl. Just as expected, brown hair, blue eyes, and no idea what was going to happen. God she wished she could still be that naïve and innocent.

"Sarah O'Connor. We are here because he wants us." Sarah kept her answer short. "What's your name?"

"Katherine Pryde but my friends call me Kitty. Us? Are there more people down here?" Kitty questioned as she became more unease. She didn't like where this was going.

"Another girl by the name of Rachel Lobman. Her cell is next to mine, though she is not in there right now. There was another girl down here. But she's gone now." Sarah explained as her eyes watered.

"Where is Rachel? And who was the other girl?" Kitty continued to questioned. The uneasiness she felt kept rising.

"Maria Johnson." The name echoed in Kitty's mind while her heart sank. Details she read in the paper, the words she heard from the TV reports flooded into her mind. Only to be interrupted by screams she heard echoing her cell. "What's going on!? Who is that?" Kitty exclaimed.

"That is Rachel." Sarah started to cry. "He has her." The screams get louder and Kitty doesn't think she can stand it any longer.

"Who is he? What is he doing to her?!" The teenage mutant yelled while pushing against the door. For some reason she was not able to phase though it. This is a terrible time for her powers to short out on her.

"Jericho Landrake. He's… he's… torturing her. The same way he tortures me and the same way he will torture you. He uses us for his entertainment." Sarah couldn't bring herself to say rape, but Kitty knew what she meant and that made her push against the door harder. "It's no use trying to escape. He will only hunt you down."

"We have to find a way to help her out!" Kitty said becoming increasingly frustrated with the shortage of her power. The thought of some guy forcing himself onto her made her feel nauseous, but that doesn't mean it will happen. She is a fighter and plans on staying that way. But right now her priority was to find a way to help Rachel. It killed her to hear her being tortured and not being able to do anything about it. An idea suddenly came to mind. "HEY JERICHO!" Kitty yelled at the top of her lungs.

"What are you doing!? Trust me, you don't want his attention! Go to your bed and pretend that you are still asleep!" Sarah scolded Kitty.

"I can't stand here while he's hurting her!" Kitty yelled in frustration. She was never the one to turn a blind eye to something wrong.

"You don't understand!" Sarah pleaded. "The things he will do to you…" But it was too late. Heavy footsteps made their way down the halls. Sounds of Rachel crying were getting closer. Jericho opened Rachel's door and tossed her inside. Once it was locked he turned to face Kitty's cell.

"Hello my dear."

Kitty stood momentarily in shock while looking at the man before her. She then shook her head and took the offensive.

"You!" She stated accusingly. "You're the creep from the mall yesterday!" Jericho only smiled. A real spitfire this one was.

"I'm flattered that you remembered. I must have left an impression." The blond man smoothly replied. Kitty only rolled her eyes. "You must have a million of questions Kitten. How about you get changed and we can go upstairs and talk about them?"

"Somehow I doubt that all you want to do is talk, Jericho. And I am perfectly fine with the clothes I am wearing now. But I will tell you what you can do. You can open these doors and let us all out and I promise not to hurt you too badly." The teenage girl stated with more bravery than she felt. Jericho smiled to himself.

"You know, usually at this point anyone of my items would be crying and begging for freedom." He chuckled.

"Sorry to disappoint." Kitty said dryly.

"But you are going to change for me. I already have a lovely dress picked out for you." Jericho explained calmly while holding up the dress. (note: I am not able to describe dresses with the accuracy that they require. Please follow the following link to see the dress. Just remove the spaces and in the first part make the slanted _dot_ into a period. www_dot_idomcats_dot_com / cccloth / normal / 1975_6 . jpg if there is any trouble just let me know.) The brown hair girl stared for a moment at the dress before responding.

"There is no way I am changing into anything, let alone a dress that short."

"Oh but you are Kitten. You see if you don't, Sarah will be punished for her actions." The sickly man smoothly replied. He shot Sarah a dark glance that forced her to cower to the back of her cell in fear.

"Hey you leave her alone! She didn't do anything!" Kitty jumped in Sarah's defense.

"She knows the rules around here. No talking among each other." Jericho said while walking towards Sarah's cell. Kitty couldn't stand the fear seen in that girl's eyes.

"She didn't say anything to me, Jericho! Leave her alone!" The brown hair girl yelled, trying to draw the attention away from the cowering girl in the cell across from hers.

"If that were true, then how did you know my name?" He simply stated. Kitty's blood ran cold. She had no explanation for that. Jericho realized that and his sickly smile grew larger.

"Give me the dress." She mumbled as she stepped away from the door. The door opened and the man walked in. Once fully inside, he closed and locked the door behind him, putting the keys in his pocket. A deathly chill shot down Kitty's spine. Jericho walked up to the teenage girl, throwing the dress on the bed in the process. Never being the one to step down, Kitty stood her ground while staring him straight in the eye. He could see the fury, which only made his desire for her grow.

"Be ready in ten minutes." Jericho whispered into her, leaving a kiss on her cheek. He received a rough push back from the young girl. The man turned around, left the cell and the floor. There were some things he needed to prepare for the girl. Once the man was out of sight, the first thing Kitty did was wipe her cheek with her hand, as though she was trying to wipe off something deadly. She glanced over to her bed and saw the dress. It was very short, and she did not like what that meant.

"Thank you for not giving me up." A small voice said from the cell across from her. Kitty looked up and saw Sarah standing.

"No problem." The mutant replied while looking over at the other cell. Rachel was balled up, holding her legs and crying into her knees. Fresh bruises covered her sleeveless arms and legs. "Hey Rachel?" The young girl looked up at Kitty. "Hey, my name is Kitty. It's gonna be ok. I'm going to find a way for us all to get out." She tried to reassure the young girl.

"No." Rachel quietly stated while shaking her head. "No you won't. That is what I thought when I first came here, but then I realize that there is no escaping."

"We will. Even if I can't find a way out, I have friends that will find us and…" Kitty started but was suddenly interrupted.

"We all had friends. They all had searched for us. And we are still here." Rachel sobbed as she made eye contact with Kitty. "You don't understand the hell you are about to face. There is no escaping it. Constantly being raped, beaten, tortured… My left arm has been broken twice already. If you fight back it only gets worse. Trust me, I've been here for four months already and every day I feel pain." There was silence. Kitty looked over to Sarah's cell, half expecting her to say it was a lie. Unfortunately Kitty wasn't so lucky.

"I've been here for seven months. You might want to get ready now." Was all that Sarah had said. The gravity of the situation seemed to sink in some more and Kitty did not like it one bit. Kitty complied and changed into the reveling dress.

"We will get out of this. I promise." Kitty stated. The door opened and footsteps were heard walking down the hall.

xXx

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	8. Chapter 8

Hello everyone! Sorry for the delay, I was on vacation. Good news, I got an awesome tan. Better news, here's the next chapter!

Thank you to Player Zero, creatorX23, Your Awesome Friend, Guest (1), Acinorev17, musicfan1346, grodo999, KaitieKat, Nyx811, Dragoncat, Guest (2), A MidNight Lover, Holycrapiloveanime, Guest (3), Guest (4), Eve-Kataanger (x2), Guest (5), a fan, Debra101, yellow331akb3, and punkrokprincess for kind reviews!

xXx

Frustration. That would be the perfect word to describe the situation Kurt and Wolverine were in. They had left the same way Kitty and Sabretooth had earlier. For awhile Logan had their trail. That was until they reached a clearing in the forest. It was then they had met up with another scent. Magneto. Apparently after him and his minions left, they made a pit stop to pick up Sabretooth and Kitty. Meanwhile the rest of the group was either around town searching for their beloved teammate or at the mansion waiting for Professor Xavier to give the word. He has been using Cerebro to locate Kitty. Unfortunately, without her using her power, there was no hope finding her. It had been hours since she has been missing. Even after the powers of Jean, Evan, and Beast had returned, they were still no better off in their search. It was then that Professor Xavier called everyone back to the mansion. He had an idea that could work. Several minutes later everyone was gathered in the common room.

"I've been trying to locate Kitty using Cerebro but as many of you know, if she isn't using her ability then she can't be detected." Xavier explained. "So instead I've decided to try to detect Magneto's Acolytes. They should be able to lead us to Magneto and then to Kitty. I'll let you know when we have anything." And with that the Professor rolled away back into Cerebro leaving the room full of students in silence.

"Elf?" Logan finally broke the deafening silence. "Earlier you had said that Jericho looked familiar. That you saw him in the mall. There are hundreds of people in that mall, what made him stand out to you?" The older man asked Kurt. In the sudden realization that Kitty was gone and the frantic search that followed, he forgot to ask him about this strange man.

"I…" Kurt started to say as he flashed back to that moment. _When Kurt had found Kitty, he saw her walking away from some blond guy with a pissed off look on her face. "Hey Keety! Vho vas zat?" "Just some creepy guy. You found the pillow already?" Kitty responded._ "I saw her valk avay from him. She seemed pretty mad and vhen I asked her about him, Keety just said he vas some creepy guy." Kurt had explained. He was starting to think that her meeting 'running into' this Jericho guy wasn't some accident.

"You don't think it was just a coincidence, do you?" Evan questioned. Logan shook his head no.

"Do we have any information about this 'Jericho'?" Rogue asked. "Ah mean, other than the fact that he likes to fight dirty." Scott walks over to the counter and picks up a couple sheets of paper.

"Nothing much. We had Forge run his name earlier and the only thing we found out is that his last name is Landrake, was left a huge inheritance from his parents, and has a mansion that he never goes to. It seems that he has been off the radar for several years." Scott read out the information that he had been given.

"That is nearly impossible to do in this day and age." Beast commented as he sat on the couch. Kurt decided to join him, but as he sat down on the couch he felt something crunchy. Confused he looked down and saw the newspaper from yesterday. He picked up the paper and walked over to the trashcan to throw it away. Just moments before placing the item in its bin, Kurt found that something in the paper caught his eye. Something that made his heart drop even lower than it already was.

"Is something the matter Kurt?" Storm asked when she saw him stop dead in his tracks.

"Jericho Landrake. J.L." Kurt replied as he held up the front page of the paper. In bold letters and graphic detail, was the story about Maria Johnson.

"You don't think… I mean there has to be a lot of people with the initials J.L." Jean started to say, trying to offer comfort. But knowing that Kitty was missing, possibly by the guy whose initials are J.L. and that this same guy was a creep to her, made her feel unease. Logan thought back to the day before when Kitty was reading that paper. _"Broken bones, shallow and deep cuts, bruises and burns, being raped… This girl must have been in a nightmare. And police are now saying that another girl about a year and a half ago was found dead with the same JL burn marks. And…" Kitty hesitated before continuing. "And she kinda looks like me." Logan raised his eyebrow as he took another look at the picture. Brown hair, blue eyes, petite, around the same age… He hated to admit it but the dead girl did look very similar to Kitty._

"Kitty is in more trouble than we can imagine. Chuck needs to hurry up with that machine of his." Logan snapped. As if on cue, Professor Xavier rolled into the common area.

"I have a hit."

xXx

"Time to go Kitten." Jericho leered at Kitty as he opened the cell door. He was impressed that she didn't try to run into the back of the cell, like so many girls have done. The teenage girl just stood there, staring daggers at him. With the door open, he walked into her cell and grabbed Kitty by the arm and proceeded to drag her out. Kitty had resisted the urge to claw his eyes out for now. She needed him away from the other before she made her move. The last thing she wanted was to bring pain among the other girls. They stopped outside of a door. Jericho opened the heavy door and roughly shoved Kitty into the room. Once he had made sure the door was locked behind him, he turned around with a creepy smirk planted on his face. "You look very lovely Kitten."

"It's Kitty." She snapped at the older man. He just smiled.

"No, it's not. Well not anymore. You see, _Kitten,_ you have no rights here… no freedom… no say in what is going to happen. Your only role in all of this is making me happy in what any way I choose. You are not human. You are just merchandise. Merchandise to be used in any way I see fit." Jericho explained calmly as he circled the girl. The room was very spacious. It had cabinets filled with various torturous devices, a fire place with a metal rod sticking out of it, a long oak table, a bed with chains, and a chair that sat perfectly in the middle.

"You have no idea who you are messing with. I have friends who are very good at finding people and even better at kicking ass. And I am not one to mess with." Kitty coldly replied, hoping her eyes wouldn't give away the fear that she was feeling. Show no fear was easier when she had her powers, but didn't mean she wasn't going to try.

"Oh I know all about the X-Men. People with mutant ability. Correct me if I am wrong but you are called Shadowcat and you have the ability to phase through solid objects." He paused for her response but was only met with silence. "There are other people on this team. Cyclops, Wolverine, Jean, Rogue, Storm, Beast, Spyke, Professor Xavier, and, of course your favorite member, Nightcrawler. Now you are hoping that Professor Xavier with be able to track you using that machine of his… oh what is it called again? Oh well it doesn't matter what it is called because I know for a fact that the only way it can track you is if you use your mutant ability. Something you haven't been able to do since you've woken up, am I correct?"

"How…How do you know that?" Kitty stammered unwillingly. His knowledge of her and her team was throwing her off balance.

"My Dear Kitten, you are not the only one with a mutant ability. Mine just happens to temporarily cancel out others for a short period of time, usually for two hours. All it takes is a zap from the red electric ball that I create and it's bye-bye power! Although thanks to a power enhancing crystal I had used, your power has been shorted out for…" He looks at his watch. "… about 34 more hours. Plenty of time for us to have lots and lots of fun." After hearing this information, Kitty was felling quite vulnerable and hope that she didn't show it. _Well that explains what happened to my power. How am I going to get out of this?_ As soon as she thought that thought, and idea popped into her head.

"I don't believe you." She stated plain as day. Jericho was taken aback a bit. He was expecting crying, fear, begging, running but not this.

"Try to use your power. See what happens. That should be proof enough."

"Oh I know my power has been cancelled out. It was one of the first things I tried when I woke up. But I don't believe that you had anything to do with it." The young girl spoke out against the man. "If you really had something to do with it then you would prove it. So far all you have done is monologue."

"You want proof? Fine, let's see if this is proof enough for you." Jericho snarled as he raised his hand up. He stared at Kitty as his started to focus his energy. But then he realized what was going on and stopped before anything happened. To Kitty's surprise he back handed her, splitting her lip open as she fell to the floor. "You are very clever my dear. Trying to get me to use my power so Xavier can track me. Unfortunately for you I do not need my power to handle you." He walked over to Kitty and grabbed her by her hair, dragging her over to the fire place. She struggled to break his grip on her hair but failed.

"Let go of me you creep!" Kitty yelled as she continued to struggle only to be rewarded by a kick to the stomach. She was on her knees holding her ribs gasping for air.

"It would serve you well to treat me with a little more respect, Kitten. Your time here would go easier if you did." Jericho advised while kicking her back, pushing her to lie on her stomach.

"Respect?! You are holding me against my will, beating me, and you expect me to treat you with respect! News flash, creeps like you don't get respect." The young girl snapped back as she tried to push herself up. Unfortunately she was unable to push the weight of Jericho off of her. He had her pinned down. Reaching over to the fire place, he grabbed the metal rod that was sticking out. She glanced over to see what he was doing, and immediately wished she hadn't. It wasn't just a metal rod in his hand; it was a branding rod, with the initials JL on the red hot end of it. Panic started to fill her as her struggling increased.

"Now now my dear, we will see if I can change your mind. Now stay still. I want this to come out nice and clear." Jericho brushed her hair off of her right shoulder.

"Don't…" Was all that Kitty was able to get out before the red hot rod was being pressed into her skin. She let out a blood curdling scream as her flesh was being burnt away. The blond haired man just smiled as he held the branding rod on her shoulder for a good 15 seconds before removing it, enjoying the screams he was hearing. It was music to his ears. He then got off of her back and she wept on the floor. The burning sensation just seemed to increase by the second.

"Are you going to cooperate now?" Jericho seemed to gloat as he walked around to face her. She lifts her head up to stare him straight in the eyes. He was hoping to see fear, but was disappointed. What he saw was hatred, pain, and determination.

"No." Grunted Kitty as she tried to push herself up. Tears were still flowing down her face, but it was clear that she was not willing to break so easily. Her response seemed to give joy to Jericho while he grabbed her and dragged her to the chair.

"It's been awhile since anyone has defied me so openly. Usually this is the part where you start begging." Jericho informed the young brown haired girl in front of him. He picked up a small container of salt and started to rub it into her burn mark. This had earned him another scream of pain from the girl. "Anything you have to say to me now?" Questioned the older man. Kitty stared at him once again and spat on his shirt. "Fine, I do love a challenge. Let's see what makes you break Kitten." More screams were heard as more salt was being added to her wound.

xXx

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